LYMPHATIC DRAINAGE OF THE HEART IN THE LABORATORY RAT

Abstract

We showed in the Sprague Dawley rat that the principal ascending cardiac lymphatic issimilar in location to that of man and dog and can be readily visualized by injection of a smallamount of T1824 blue dye (Evans) into the apex of the left ventricle. We also showed that it ispossible to ligate and thereby obstruct this principal cardiac lymphatic near its entry beneath theleft atrial appendage. This latter technique may be useful for studying in a small relativelyinexpensive laboratory animal the effects of blocking cardiac lymph drainage on inflammatoryand infectious processes implicated in myocardial and coronary artery disease.